Schramm, Inc. is a privately held manufacturer of mobile, top-head hydraulic drilling rigs and related equipment for the global

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of heat a ...

, and

water well A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. Th ...

industries. In October 2019, it was acquired by GenNx360 Capital Partners. It is headquartered in West Chester,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Schramm affiliated sales, parts, and service centers are located in more than 16 countries across the globe, with its primary manufacturing facilities located in Pennsylvania and Western Australia. Schramm achieved international recognition for its role in the rescue of 33 miners in the

2010 Copiapo Mining Accident 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...

. Schramm's Australian based business is currently under external administration, following a workplace fatality in February 2023. The circumstances leading to the fatality are being investigated by Worksafe WA.

Company History

The company was founded in 1900 by Chris Schramm. It originally manufactured portable

air compressors An air compressor is a pneumatic device that converts power (using an electric motor, diesel or gasoline engine, etc.) into potential energy stored in pressurized air (i.e., compressed air). By one of several methods, an air compressor forces mor ...

, before switching to rotary drilling rigs in the 1950s. Dick Schramm, who began working for the family business as a

manufacturing engineer Manufacturing engineering or production engineering is a branch of professional engineering that shares many common concepts and ideas with other fields of engineering such as mechanical, chemical, electrical, and industrial engineering. Manufa ...

in 1961, worked his way up the ranks to become President of the company in 1985. He is currently the company Chairman. In 2015, Schramm acquired

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

's AirDrill and AirDrill Hammers and Bits, manufacturers of RC (reverse circulation) hammers and drilling bits. In 2020, Schramm launched a joint venture with Hardwick Machinery in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, to bolster its global aftermarket service and support operations. On 13 February 2023, a workplace fatality occurred at Schramm Australia's headquarters in Welshpool, Western Australia. Worksafe WA are investigating whether Schramm's negligence contributed to the fatality. Following the fatality, on 22 February 2023, the company appointed Administrators over its Australian entities, AirDrill Pty Ltd, AirDrill Hammers and Bits Pty Ltd and Schramm Australia Holding Pty Ltd.

2010 Copiapó mining accident

In 2010, Schramm, Inc. assisted in the rescue of 33 miners trapped for 69 days as a result of the Copiapó mining accident in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. The company built both drilling rigs that were key in saving the miners. The Schramm T685 WS truck mounted drill bored a hole that, on 22 August 2010, was the first to break through to the 33 trapped men, confirming they had survived the accident. Chesco company proud to help with Chilean miner rescue
, The Mercury, Pennsylvania (US), Brian McCullough, 14 October 2010 The company also manufactured the T130XD air core drilling rig owned by Geotec S.A., a Chilean-American joint venture drilling company. The T130 heavy drill was chosen by the

general contractor A general contractor, main contractor or prime contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and the communication of information to all involved parties throughout the course of ...

for Plan B, Chilean firm Drillers Supply S.A., to widen one of the three wide and deep boreholes that were already used to keep the miners supplied using palomas. The T130 rig, in a three-way international race, was the first to open an escape

shaft Shaft may refer to: Rotating machine elements * Shaft (mechanical engineering), a rotating machine element used to transmit power * Line shaft, a power transmission system * Drive shaft, a shaft for transferring torque * Axle, a shaft around whi ...

to the men.Schramm Airdrill T130XD Rig Specifications PDF
, Schramm Inc.
Houston Chronicle (US), Zain Shauk, 13 October 2010Miners's Rescue In Chile: An Unprecendent Rescue Begins (Special Report)(English)
The Santiago Times, Dominique Farrell and Dustin Zarnikow

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.schramminc.com
Schramm T130 portable drilling rig specificationsSchramm T685 portable drilling rig specifications
Construction equipment manufacturers of the United States Mining equipment companies Companies based in Chester County, Pennsylvania American companies established in 1900 2010 Copiapó mining accident Manufacturing companies based in Pennsylvania 1900 establishments in Pennsylvania Manufacturing companies established in 1900